A cloud-native culture goes beyond adopting new technology. It’s about changing the way you think about delivering and deploying software. This post examines the essential elements of establishing a successful cloud-native culture in a more conversational manner.

Go open source for the win

I’d like to start with something everyone knows: open source! Those things that let you tap into the collective knowledge of a global community to build software faster and more cheaply. Open-source software enables you to build more flexible and scalable applications by unlocking the power of collaboration and innovation. Kubernetes and Prometheus are becoming the standard for building cloud-native applications, so it’s important to contribute to them, align with industry standards, avoid vendor lock-in, and stay up-to-date. For instance, the popular open source project Kubernetes provides a platform for automating deployment, scaling, and managing containerized applications, enabling developers to separate their applications into smaller, independent pieces that can be deployed, updated, and managed independently.

The first step to adopting open source as part of a cloud native culture transformation is to understand the benefits of open source software. Open source software can provide access to a larger pool of developers, reduce costs, and increase the flexibility of application development. Additionally, it can facilitate collaboration between developers, enabling them to work together to create better applications faster. It also allows developers to easily access and incorporate the latest technology innovations into their applications. Finally, it can help reduce vendor lock-in, as developers can switch between open source projects and technologies as needed.

Implement DevOps and agile practices

 Next up, let’s talk about adopting agile and DevOps practices. These methodologies promote collaboration, automation, and continuous delivery, allowing teams to build and deploy software faster and with fewer errors. The best part? It’s all about embracing a culture of continuous improvement and experimentation, which is key to driving innovation and staying ahead of the competition.  Agile and DevOps methodologies emphasize a culture of continuous improvement, which means teams constantly look for ways to improve their processes and the software they produce. By embracing a culture of experimentation, teams can quickly identify and address issues and can iterate rapidly to build better products.

With agile and DevOps practices, you can reduce time to market, increase efficiency, and improve quality, all while keeping costs under control. For instance, frequent releases can allow teams to respond quickly to customer feedback, ensuring that the software they are delivering is what the customers need. Currently, 46% of organizations are relatively new to DevOps, while 54% have been practicing it for 3+ years.

The first step in adopting DevOps as part of a cloud native transformation is to understand the benefits of DevOps. DevOps methodologies focus on collaboration between teams, automation of processes, and continuous delivery of software. This enables teams to build and deploy software faster and with fewer errors. Additionally, embracing a culture of continuous improvement and experimentation is key to driving innovation and staying ahead of the competition. By embracing a culture of experimentation, teams can quickly identify and address issues, and can iterate rapidly to build better products. This can reduce time to market, increase efficiency, and improve quality while controlling costs.

Make writing part of your cloud native culture

Writing is an important part of a cloud-native culture. Documentation such as technical guides, user manuals, and tutorials provide teams with the information they need to understand and use cloud-native tools and technologies. Documentation should also include detailed instructions on troubleshooting and debugging applications and diagrams and images to help teams better understand applications’ architecture and internal workings. Furthermore, technical documentation should be updated regularly to ensure teams can access the most up-to-date information. Writing helps teams stay informed and knowledgeable and is essential for ensuring the success and efficiency of cloud-native applications.

Make automation your co-pilot

Automation is also a critical element of a successful cloud-native culture. It lets you build and deploy applications at scale, reduce manual errors, and improve productivity. Tools like Terraform and Ansible have become the standard for infrastructure as code, allowing you to automate the provisioning of resources and manage infrastructure efficiently. By automating routine tasks, you can free up your teams to focus on more strategic work, like improving customer experience and driving innovation. Additionally, automating infrastructure as code enables teams to quickly and easily deploy changes and identify and resolve any issues that arise quickly. This can reduce the risk of a data breach or other malicious activity by ensuring up-to-date and secure infrastructure.

Practice continuous learning and training

Now, let’s talk about continuous learning and training, which are crucial to building a successful cloud-native culture. Cloud-native technologies are evolving rapidly, and your teams must stay current with the latest trends, tools, and techniques to remain competitive. Investing in employee training and development helps retain top talent and ensures that teams have the skills and knowledge they need to build and deploy cloud-native applications effectively. Cloud-native certifications like the Certified Kubernetes Administrator (CKA) and AWS Certified Solutions Architect can provide teams with the knowledge and skills they need to successfully build and manage cloud-native applications.

Foster innovation and experimentation

Lastly, innovation and experimentation are essential for a successful cloud-native culture. Encourage your teams to think outside the box, try new things, and experiment with different approaches. By creating an environment that fosters innovation and experimentation, you can drive continuous improvement, identify new opportunities, and stay ahead of the competition. This is because it helps to keep your organization agile and open to change, which is essential in today’s ever-evolving business landscape. It also helps to foster a sense of collaboration, creativity, and problem-solving among teams. Through experimentation, teams can identify new ways to grow and adapt to changes in the market, as well as find creative solutions to challenges they may face.  For instance, an organization may use an agile approach to develop a new product, such as prototyping and testing out different versions of the product to determine which one is the most successful.

Additionally, by encouraging employees to think outside of the box and take risks, organizations can stay ahead of the competition and remain competitive. For example, allowing employees to be creative in problem-solving can lead to developing innovative solutions to improve your organization’s offerings and services.

Conclusion

Building a successful cloud-native culture is a shift toward embracing continuous delivery, DevOps practices, and innovation. By embracing open-source software, adopting agile and DevOps practices, focusing on automation, investing in continuous learning and training, and encouraging innovation and experimentation, you can build a culture that unleashes the full potential of the cloud-native movement.